Fortune 500 firms not hiring women as CISOs, men hold 87 per cent roles

According to the global market research firm Forrester, the CISO role is dominated by men and Fortune 20 companies fare a bit worse, with only two female CISOs within that cohort. 

“Calling a discrepancy this large a gender gap is a clear understatement. This is an emergency signal warning us that the cybersecurity industry has major issues welcoming, developing, and promoting female cybersecurity talent,” said Jeff Pollard, Principal Analyst. 

“It’s difficult to sympathise with those claiming talent shortage challenges when roughly half of the population is so under-represented,” he added. 

Among Fortune 500 companies, 45 per cent CISOs have MBAs, demonstrating the growing need for CISOs to understand, speak and think in business terms despite technology backgrounds. 

Only 11 per cent of Fortune 500 CISOs list a military background, with only 4 per cent previously employed by law enforcement, the report noted. 

“Fortune 500 CISOs have longer tenure than expected at four years, which is plenty of time to strategise, develop plans, execute, and look ahead to the next step in their career path,” it added. 

Securing the role of CISO proves to be difficult for longstanding employees. Nearly 59 per cent of CISOs were external hires with that number jumping to 64 per cent in Fortune 100 companies. 

While Fortune 100 companies are reluctant to hire rookie CISOs, Fortune 500 companies are much more interested in individuals who are new to the role, with rookies making up 2/3 of Fortune 500 CISOs.